Legacy — Part 1
What if how you handle your money right now is actually shaping the eternity you'll wake up to? Most of us don't think about our bank statements as a spiritual diagnostic, but Jesus did. In Part 1 of Legacy, Pastor Jess DiSabatino opens a new series at Journey Church Calgary with the parable of the shrewd manager in Luke 16 and a simple question: are you accumulating temporary wealth, or are you building something that lasts forever?
Series: Legacy
Scripture: Luke 16:1-13 | Psalm 112:5-6
Pastor: Jess DiSabatino
Date: June 9, 2026
Key Takeaways
Legacy is built through stewardship, not wealth. Leaving a lasting legacy has nothing to do with whether you feel wealthy or poor by the world's standards. Biblical legacy is built through simple, consistent, everyday faithfulness with whatever resources you actually have right now. The widow with two coins and the millionaire writing the check are measured by the same standard: faithfulness. What you do quietly with what you have today is what builds something that outlasts you.
True ownership belongs exclusively to God. The foundational step toward a biblical view of money is recognizing that we own nothing permanently. Every resource we have (our income, our skills, our time, our relationships, even the breath in our lungs) traces back to God. We are not owners. We are managers. And in eternity, we will face two definitive questions: what did you do with God's Son? And what did you do with God's stuff?
You can't take your money with you, but you can send it ahead. Imagine you are preparing for a year-long trip to Europe and you only have $100 in cash. Suddenly a chest filled with a million dollars worth of casino chips arrives at your door. You would be a fool to go to sleep feeling rich, because casino chips have zero purchasing power in Europe. That is exactly how earthly wealth looks from heaven's perspective. It feels valuable now, but it does not transfer. The good news is that even if you can't take it with you, you can send it ahead. Every dollar invested in people, in the gospel, in serving the poor, in advancing God's Kingdom gets converted into something that lasts forever. And here is the heart check: if you want to know what someone really believes about eternity, don't listen to how loud they sing on Sunday. Look at their bank statement. Money does not lie.
The giving ladder has three rungs: first fruits, full stewardship, kingdom legacy. Spiritual growth in generosity is a ladder you climb. Rung 1 is the tithe (the first 10%). Scripture uses the word "bring" the tithe, not "give," because it already belongs to God. We are not donating something of ours. We are returning the first fruits to the One who owns them. Rung 2 is moving from "God tax" thinking to handing over a blank check, where 100% of your life is on the table and you ask God how He wants you to use it. Rung 3 is full Kingdom legacy investment: actively restructuring your lifestyle, your budget, your comforts, so that as many resources as possible get converted into eternal value. Most of us are still on Rung 1. The invitation is to keep climbing.
Generosity is not what God wants from you. It is what He wants for you. Generosity is rarely natural. By default, our instinct is to hoard out of fear. Moving toward a generous life requires a conscious choice, a real plan, and intentional margin. There is a story of a mother sitting alone in a mall food court with a coffee and a bag of five Mrs. Fields cookies. An old man sat down at her table and started eating her cookies one by one. She fumed silently, even when he broke the last cookie in half to share with her. She stomped to her car furious. When she reached into her purse for her keys, her hand brushed against a crinkling bag. Her cookies. Untouched. She had been eating the old man's cookies the whole time, resenting him for sharing. That is what it looks like to get frustrated with God when He asks us to be generous with what we have. We've been eating His cookies all along. Generosity is not something God wants from you. It is the joy He wants for you, the joy of becoming like Him.
